Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

Originally Posted by Vic Viper

was my thread not enough? seriously though bring UW to the polo fields.

Your thread was great, but it was for 2011 I believe? sorry... It's all i could think of after seeing chemis on friday. Underworld would be so fucking amazing at coachella...main, sahara, wherever... It seems like the sahara tent has become the brohara tent, so maybe not there.

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

The band has said they lose money coming out to play festivals and try to play smaller venues to support festival shows. I guess it has something to do with being on a smaller label where they have more control but not a lot of funds to bring their entire crew over. That said, they really need to play at Coachella again. An 8 year absence for a truly legendary dance act is inexcusable.

They're be perfect for the Mojave now. Keep all the bros over in the Sahara.

Lastly, I'd better not have to wait 6 years to see the Chems plays live on the Polo Fields again. 1999, 2005, 2011...

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

Originally Posted by cured

The band has said they lose money coming out to play festivals and try to play smaller venues to support festival shows. I guess it has something to do with being on a smaller label where they have more control but not a lot of funds to bring their entire crew over. That said, they really need to play at Coachella again. An 8 year absence for a truly legendary dance act is inexcusable.

They're be perfect for the Mojave now. Keep all the bros over in the Sahara.

Lastly, I'd better not have to wait 6 years to see the Chems plays live on the Polo Fields again. 1999, 2005, 2011...

You got that first part backward, man; and the problem has nothing to do with the label, it has to do with nobody showing up to their concerts and the cost of moving their equipment.

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

You're right I did have that backwards. I'm going to blame lack of hydration. Aurgasm has it partly right; lack of attendence is one thing but the way they've been promoting themselves (hello label) are absolutely contributing to that problem. I'm gonna go try to hunt down a post on the dirty forums...

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

Originally Posted by khouri

A crucial component of touring is awareness. If Underworld aren't filling venues, it's because people don't know they're still putting new music out, assuming they've even heard of Underworld in the first place. I can tell you that hardly anybody I spoke to at the aborted Hardfest gig last year had any idea who Underworld were.

The solutions to that problem are -- and here I go again -- Internet presence and content distribution. All the major electronic acts that have remained or become relevant in the last ten years, from oldies like Daft Punk to the new lot like Fischerspooner or Justice, have done so in part by making their music wildly available and heavily promoted. Underworld willingly opted out of that industry system -- in my opinion, to their peril. With the exception of A Hundred Days Off, Underworld have spent most of the last decade making it nearly impossible for the casual listener to discover and obtain their music:

The early albums' availability is spotty at best; their greatest hits package is, I believe, out-of-print; their RiverRun series of EPs and singles were released in the most bullshit fashion imaginable; the 3-disc Live in Tokyo record, arguably the best Underworld release of all time, was practically impossible to obtain; the Sunshine soundtrack was hopelessly delayed; Oblivion With Bells was a proper album with proper avenues of distribution, but the promotion was dreadful: homemade music videos, bizarre single choices in the form of Holding the Moth and Ring Road, assuming you could buy them in the first place (I don't have a record player, so no Ring Road for me). Of course, some of this stuff is available digitally, but what if nobody knows it exists at all?

Finally, the Underworld website is demonstrably lacking, to put it mildly. True, the shop is now equipped with a good chunk of the back catalogue, assuming there are no longer problems buying any of it, but the site itself looks really unprofessional, is difficult to navigate, is home to no useful information beyond the dubious shop and barebones tour dates -- no bio, no gallery, and no free music beyond what's available in that weird pop-up media player despite releasing so god damn much of it over the years.

But it looks like they're turning it around this time with Barking. DJs are actually able to get their hands on the material, for one thing. "Scribble" is making the rounds in the rave scene here in the States, from what I've been hearing. Thankfully the Twitter and Facebook integration has become more useful as well with relevant information and some coherent fan interaction.

I get so frustrated about all this stuff because I think Underworld are the best band in the world. Barking seems poised to be a Beaucoup-level success, so hopefully Underworld will finally emerge from the underground.

There's one fan's take on things...

Also a good reason why if they did show up, it wouldn't be on the main stage. It'd have to be the Mojave.

Re: UNDERWORLD for Coachella 2012- Show your support!

I don't think it has anything to do with their marketing. Just look at the people who are currently popular and then try to blame this on them or their label. They just don't appeal to the masses anymore.